Affiliation:
1. University of Pittsburgh
2. University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering
Abstract
Head movement must be stabilized to enable high-quality data collection
from optical instrumentation such as eye trackers and ophthalmic
imaging devices. Though critically important for imaging, head
stabilization is often an afterthought in the design of advanced
ophthalmic imaging systems, and experimental devices often adapt used
and/or discarded equipment from clinical devices for this purpose.
Alternatively, those seeking the most stable solution possible,
including many users of adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy systems,
utilize bite bars. Bite bars can provide excellent stability but are
time consuming to fabricate, decreasing imaging efficiency, and
uncomfortable for many patients, especially the elderly and/or those
with prosthodontics such as dentures who may refuse participation in a
study that requires one. No commercial vendors specifically offer head
mount solutions for experimental ophthalmic imaging devices, resulting
in nearly every custom device having a different solution for this
commonly encountered problem. Parallelizing the head stabilization
apparatus across different custom devices may improve standardization
of experimental imaging systems for clinical trials and other
multicenter investigations. Here we introduce a head mount design for
ophthalmic imaging that is modular, adjustable, and customizable to
the constraints of different experimental imaging configurations. The
three points of head contact in our solution provide excellent
stabilization across a range of head sizes and shapes from small
children to adults, and the ease of adjustment afforded by our design
minimizes the time to get participants stabilized and comfortable.
Funder
University of Pittsburgh
The Eye and Ear Foundation of
Pittsburgh
Research to Prevent
Blindness
National Institutes of
Health
Subject
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics,Engineering (miscellaneous),Electrical and Electronic Engineering